MOSCOW, February 19. /TASS/. Tourist flow from Russia to Europe will not recover until 2016, the Association of Tour Operators (ATOR) said on Wednesday.

Countering Europe-bound movements from other parts of the globe last year, fewer Russian travellers were logged in what the industry called a dramatic downturn expected to continue. While other regions may consolidate those results in coming months, 2015 Russian tourist flow westward was unlikely to recover, said a travel industry representative.

Tourist trips went up by four percent to 588 million in most parts of Europe last year, 22 million more than 2013, said the European Travel Commission (ETC). Fewer movements recorded in Eastern Europe were the exception.